Last week, we published an open letter to Bishop Baldacchino from Father Larry Gosselin, OFM, who once served as the mission’s pastor, noting that “the Mescalero people are deeply distressed spiritually by the recent loss of the sacred dignity of this icon and the controversy surrounding it.” Father Gosselin advised that the statue’s restoration should take place in the context of “a formal blessing that honors the Mescalero people with complete sincerity and deep humility, and that reconciliation and reparation for the harm this has caused” – a step he recommended as only a “first step” on the road to reconciliation.
But there was one detail in this story that made me think the diocese might not be willing to walk the path of penance and reconciliation. You may remember that the artist who painted the icon, Brother Robert Lentz, OFM, wrote an open letter about the painting, in which he asserted, “What I want to emphasize in these brief comments is that this icon belongs to them. It is theirs physically. As I stated above, I gave it to them and they chose to hang it in their church. It is theirs spiritually as well.”
Earlier, Deacon John Eric Manson (OFS), the diocese’s chief operating officer, argued in a recorded telephone conversation on June 27, 2024 that the artworks belong to the diocese and not the mission because the mission belongs to the diocese.
In an OSV News article reporting the return of the artwork, reporter Gina Christian confirmed with local residents that “a parishioner brought the artwork from the tribal office back to the church.” I recently spoke with a local resident who confirmed that the parish returned the artwork to the church in a U-Haul. Tribal Office Not a reservation, Church.
Was this a sign that the bishop (as former pastor Father Chudy reportedly said) believed the statue did not belong in the Church? Did he also believe it was impossible to be Apache and Catholic? Why was the statue never returned to where it was stolen?
No one knows. Neither the bishop nor the diocese have issued any official statements at any point during this incident.
We do not yet know who will be appointed to serve the community in place of Fr. Chudy. Please pray that they will be given a priest who will love them and help them heal. This appointment cannot be decided later. Their next pastor must be someone with a shepherd’s heart.
Some thoughts
As I stated above, I have been in contact with members of the Mescalero Apache Catholic community and will work to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples who have been directly affected by these events.
But as a lifelong Catholic with ample experience working both in and outside the Church, I have also formulated my own thoughts on the matter. I have heard the stories of many Catholics who have suffered at the hands of Church institutions and who felt abandoned and silenced when harm was inflicted by Church officials. I compiled my thoughts in a thread on X (formerly Twitter), which I am reprinting here with some light editing.
While I am humbled by the loyalty shown by the Apache community throughout this nightmare, I am also horrified to learn that in the months leading up to the theft of the Apache Christ statue, the Apaches suffered a clear disrespect for their culture under a bishop-imposed pastorate.
I shudder to think that if Father Tschudi had not committed the heinous act of stealing their holy icons (which drew international condemnation), our brothers and sisters in the faith would have had to endure for much longer a “pastor” who looks down on them and despises their culture.
By sending Father Chudy to the St. Joseph Apache Mission, Bishop Peter Baldacchino knowingly and unknowingly inflicted spiritual abuse on an Indigenous community that had already endured so much persecution throughout its history. The phone call with the diocesan chief executive officer suggests the diocese was complicit.
It appears that Father Chudy will be removed from the management of the mission. But that is just the beginning. The bishop and the diocese must take responsibility for the crimes and injustices they have committed and inflicted upon the community of St. Joseph Apache Mission. An apology and reparations are required.
But this incident points to a larger problem in our church. Pope Francis talks about a church that listens. I remember his speech to the U.S. bishops in 2015, when he reminded them that they have to be close to people.
But how many more bishops are sending (intentionally or inadvertently) tyrannical and bigoted priests to their parishes? How many more are they ignoring the voices of the faithful about spiritually abusive priests? How many more are they ignoring the voices of women, who have always been the “glue” that holds communities together?
The Apache Christ statue is being restored because the actions of the priests in this case were so dramatic, so absurd, so bizarre that they drew world attention, but how many other communities suffer similar evils, ignored by their bishops and with little recourse to the Church?
The answers to this case are still unclear. Still, there are already many lessons to be learned from the theft of the Apache Christ. This is indicative of a much larger problem. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Image: Artwork from the Mescalero Apache Tribal Office. Source: Mescalero Apache Tribe Facebook page.
